Riothamus is considered by
some scholars an epitaph or title rather than a
personal name, probably derived from British Rigotamos, "King-most"
"High King". He was a ruler in
both Britain and Brittany. Riothamus was one of the British kings that led an army of
Britons into Gaul and as Geoffrey Ashe points out, this fact matches
Arthur's continental campaigns and therefore makes him a candidate for the
historical Arthur.
In Gaul, Sidonius of
Clermont-Ferrand wrote to Riothamus, to seek redress for a friend of his
against a substantial British landowner. His letter indicates that he knew
something of the character of Riothamus from previous correspondence or
meetings in which they had mutual acquaintances.
Gregory of Tours places
Riothamus in 6th century Vannes, one of the holdings of Riothamus' father,
Cynan Meriadauc, leader of the first migration from Britain to Brittany
according to John Morris in his The Age of Arthur, A History of the British Isles from 350 to
650. In the same chapter of Morris' book, Riothamus is "said to have
been" founder of the dynasties of eastern Domnonie, and his son,
Daniel Dremrud, is the 'king of the Alamanni'.
A possible historical
timeline for the continental campaign of Riothamus is as follows: The Goths were settled in
southern Gaul by treaty with the Roman commander and future emperor
Constantius III in 415. After the death of Honorius, Galla Placidia,
Valentinian's mother,
ruled as Regent of the Western Empire from 423 until 450, when Valentinian
assumed the throne. Aetius, who was the mainstay of the Western Roman Empire during this
period, was murdered by Valentinian III in 454. Aetius is the same
individual to whom the plea from Britain was made
circa 446. Valentinian was murdered the following year in 455. A great
number of historians list the dates between 455 and 467 as
the disintegration of the Western empire, with several usurpers claiming
the throne in this interval. In 466, Euric became the King of the Visigoth. In
467, Anthemius was appointed as the Emperor of the West
by Leo I of the Eastern Empire. Anthemius' rule lasted from 467 to 472.
During this period when Avitus's son in law, Sidonius, was prefect, there
were two trials of Romans for treason which relate to
a proposal to have Euric take over southern Gaul to end the weakness and
ineffectiveness of imperial rule there. Also at this time, Jordanes and Gregory
of Tours write of the advent of the Briton Riothamus from across
the ocean. He sailed with a fleet carrying 12,000 men
into the interior via the Loire. For his assistance, the Bretons
under Riothamus were given the estates north of the Loire and the
Armorican Tract. But he was betrayed, utterly routed by Euric, and retreated
into Burgundy toward Avallon. Riothamus is not mentioned in history
again. In 472, Euric withdrew from the
treaty of 415 and by 475 had conquered all of southern Gaul except Savoy
which was held by the Burgundians and the Auvergne which was held by
Ecdicius, son of
Avitus. In 475, the bishop of Marseille engineered a
swap of territory under which Auvergne was swapped for Provence, in order
to protect Italy. The scandal that this provoked led to the collapse of
the regime of Julius Nepos and the usurpation of the father of Romulus
Augustulus, who used his son as a puppet. In 476, Euric seized
Provence anyway and the army used the opportunity to abolish the post of
western Emperor and place itself at the disposal of the eastern emperor
by returning the imperial regalia to Constantinople. Letters of Sidonius
tells us that Euric's court, in Bordeaux, was staffed mainly by Romans,
whom he writes to by name.
Riothamus is recorded by Jordanes as fighting for the Empire
against the Visigoths on the
Continent. By trying to identify various personages mentioned in Geoffrey's
Historia about Arthur - namely, the
Emperor Leo - Leo I, Lucius Hiberus - a mistake for
Sigebert's Lucerius, and a Pope Sulpicius - possibly a corruption of Pope
Simplicius reigning at the same time as Leo, Geoffrey Ashe equated him to
Arthur and stated this overseas campaign
occurred in the years 469-470CE. Most of the assumptions and identifications
have been debated. As Dan Hunt has pointed out, "Another source
utilized by Ashe to confirm his Riothamus theory is William's early 11th
century Life of Saint Goeznovius (Gwyddno), which mentions Arthur as
winning many victories "gloriously in Britain and Gaul". But
Gaul and Wales could be confused, the two ancient spellings for these
countries being identical in Latin and French. Gaels, i.e. Irishman, could
even be confused for Gauls. Thus William's testimony cannot be relied upon
to prove that Arthur was fighting in Gaul. Jordanes may very well have
confused Brittany for Britain and Bretons for Britons, assuming as he did
so that Britons from Britain must have come to Gaul "by the way of
Ocean". Similar problems occur with Hiberus which can be
Hiberus referring to Spain or a Spaniard or Hiber(n)us, a Gwyddel or
Irishman. A mythological solution to the "Hiberus" problem was
long ago proposed by Loomis: Procurator Lucius Hiber(n)us, derives from the Welsh hero Llenlleawg
Gwyddel. He proposed that Llenlleawg itself was an epithet of the god
Lugh and later became the name Lancelot, which is why in the later romances
Lancelot plays the role previously played by Lucius Hiber(n)us.
As for Avallon, John Morris
on page 138 of his book, says: "The romantic Avallon is a
common Roman Celtic place name; it is still the name of one small town in
central France, that was known as Aballo in the Roman period. The letters
'Avallon' painted upon a dusty board on the railway station are a healthy
reminder of its prosaic reality, for it means no more than 'Appleton'.
"
John Morris was of the
opinion that Riothamus was same person as the Riothamus in the genealogy
of the Annals of Clonmacnoise, a John Reith, also called Regula and
Riatham. He "defeated the 'keels' of five chiefs, and cut off their
heads . . .Let my witness be the river Loire, by whose banks so many
battles were then so keenly fought."
Equally as interesting,
Geoffrey Ashe points out that stories began popping up about Arthur during
this period, and
in some of the later stories, the date of 475 is ascribed as the year of Arthur's coronation.Just a series of
coincidental dates? Certainly, Riothamus is a probable model for the
continental campaign that Geoffrey of Monmouth ascribes to Arthur. Was
Riothamus wounded to the death and disappeared to Avallon just as Arthur?
Or could it be that since he came from
across the ocean, he went back there,
back to Britain and resumed his role as war leader.

1. I will write once more in my usual
strain, mingling compliment with grievance. Not that I at all desire to
follow up the first words of greeting with disagreeable subjects, but
things seem to be always happening which a man of my order and in my
position can neither mention without unpleasantness, nor pass over without
neglect of duty. Yet I do my best to remember the burdensome and delicate
sense of honour which makes you so ready to blush for others' faults.

2. The bearer of this is an obscure and
humble person, so harmless, insignificant, and helpless that he seems to
invite his own discomfiture; his grievance is that the Bretons are
secretly enticing his slaves away. Whether his indictment is a true one, I
cannot say; but if you can only confront the parties and decide the matter
on its merits, I think the unfortunate man may be able to make good his
charge, if indeed a stranger from the country unarmed, abject and
impecunious to boot, has ever a chance of a fair or kindly hearing against
adversaries with all the advantages he lacks, arms, astuteness,
turbulences, and the aggressive spirit of men backed by numerous friends.
Farewell.